Back Breaking
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: John Hart pushed Jack off the roof of a high rise building, and he landed with his back on a bench! I have always wondered what might have happened in the aftermath if he hadn't completely healed after he revived! Especially following the events of 'The Year That Never Was'. Lots of hurt Jack/caring Ianto and Doctor Owen!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"I… Ianto…" Jack moaned as he placed an unsteady finger to his intercom system. His voice sounded weak even to his own ears, and his breath was coming in short, sharp gasps. Keeping his breathing shallow was helping to still the stabbing daggers as they spread along the entire length of his spine, but still the pain in his back was unbearable. He tried to manoeuvre himself into what he hoped would be a more comfortable position, but barely managed to stifle a scream of pain, before realising that he couldn't move. With panic Jack began to realise that he was paralysed.

"Jack?" He heard Ianto's soft Welsh voice answer him, and Jack swallowed. The pain was making him nauseous. "Jack?" Ianto asked again. "Where are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm… I'm still at the office building!" Jack managed to answer, although it took every ounce of what little strength he had left. He was having to fight though the pain, to focus very hard on breathing – the effort of talking making his words painfully slow. "I've got a bit of a problem…"

"So do we Jack." Ianto began to explain. "We've found Gwen… she's been poisoned…" Jack didn't hear the rest of what Ianto's conversation – he was rapidly tiring and could only process one piece of information at a time. The young Welshman's words passed in a blur of increased pain and anxiety at the mention of Gwen's name. He was however still lucid enough to catch the tail end of what he was saying.

"Don't worry though, Owen's with her! She's going to be fine!"

At least that was something, Jack thought. He sighed – partly in relief, and partly in an attempt to slow his laboured breathing – closing his eyes slowly as a soft flow of breath escaped from between his slightly parted lips.

Curse John Hart! If he ever got his hands on him he'd regret the day he'd ever crossed paths with Captain Jack Harkness!

Despite his careful attempts not to move however it seemed to Jack as though every muscle in his throbbing back was suddenly and viciously thrown into a succession of violent spasms, and he let out an involuntary cry of pain. His coat felt heavy against his burning skin, and the daggers of before were suddenly back, digging their blades even deeper into his flesh – tearing chunks out of the already raw and open wounds, and plunging into each individual vertebrate of his spine. He hadn't known pain like it since the Dalek attack on the Space Station years before – and even the memory of that now paled in comparison

"…Jack?" Ianto suddenly demanded. "Jack are you alright? I didn't tell you… you need to be careful… John's been there! He…"

"I know…" Jack groaned.

"What?" Ianto asked, tone indicative of his sudden alarm.

"I know…" He explained. "He pushed me off the roof of the building… I landed with my back on a bench!"

"What? Jack? Are you alright?" Ianto exclaimed… scared by how strained Jack's voice suddenly sounded.

This wasn't supposed to happen, not to Jack… Jack was immortal… invincible – but for the first time since Jack had initiated contact with his team, Ianto could hear that there was a weakness to the Captain's voice. Although he didn't say as much Ianto could tell that he'd only recently revived from what must have been quite a traumatic death.

"I… I don't think so…" Jack faltered in response to Ianto's concerned question. "It hurts too much Ianto… I can't move… Owen… I need…"

"Alright Jack…" Ianto reassured him. "Stay where you are, don't move! We're on our way!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As Ianto cut the connection he looked over to Owen who was looking up at him – a frown of concern etched into his face. Gwen, now fully conscious, was leaning heavily against Toshiko, who was sitting with her back against the wall as she too tried to compose herself.

"What was all that about?" Owen asked, his frown turning into an irritated scowl. He was tired… no, not tired… he was downright exhausted!

He'd been shot – he should have been resting…

Instead he was having to track down the crazed lunatic of a man he'd only discovered the existence of a few hours before, having to clean up the trail of devastation he'd left in his wake...

Two of his four colleagues had already suffered at the hands of Captain John Hart; one beaten, and the other poisoned… and now his Captain had gone missing… again!

Jack was beginning to make quite a habit of this, he thought angrily to himself.

It was then that he caught sight of Ianto's expression however – his face unusually pale, there was an anxious look upon his face, and his tone immediately softened.

"…Ianto?" He pressed him.

"That was Jack…" Ianto explained. "I think he's in trouble!"

Gwen gasped, and both men turned to see that Toshiko was already carefully helping her feet. The young woman turned to look at Ianto.

"What sort of trouble?" Owen asked.

"John pushed him off the roof of the office building…" Ianto explained. "I don't know exactly what happened… Jack didn't tell me… but… I think he's really hurt… he sounded in a bad way when I spoke to him just now!"

Owen scoffed – they were all now aware of Jack's condition – his weirdly wonderful ability to heal himself and his apparent total inability to die. In all the years Owen had known him he'd rarely found himself in need of medical attention.

"Come on, this is Jack we're talking about…" He shook his head.

"He landed with his back on a bench!" Ianto told them, undeterred by Owen's apparent lack of concern. "He says that he can't move Owen… he's in too much pain! There was a weakness in his voice…

You're right, this is Jack we're talking about… and you don't forget about it when you hear a man barely clinging onto consciousness! Believe me this is bad!"

Owen's tired eyes bored into Ianto's – observing the frightened look within. He was pleading with him silently, and he couldn't just ignore the genuine nature of the situation.

"Oh shit!" He cursed as he picked up the medical bag containing the anti-toxin kit beside him. Toshiko grabbed her laptop case, and the small group started running from the storage container where they'd found Gwen, and back out to the SUV.

"Where is he now?" Owen panted as they ran. The two women trailed along behind.

"Still at the office buildings." Ianto explained.

"Fucking shit!" The young doctor growled as all four finally reached the SUV. Ianto, the only one amongst them in any condition to drive, leapt into the driver's seat, whilst Owen seated himself in the front passenger seat beside him. "Some evening this is turning out to be!" He muttered as he buckled himself in for the short drive ahead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Meanwhile Jack could feel the blood trickling down his back and pooling at the base of his spine. He was beginning to feel dizzy and light headed from the blood loss, and as the heat began to swell in his cheeks the cool evening air did little to cool the blazing temperature of his pain induced fever.

His head was spinning. His stomach muscles tightened – cramping painfully as he felt warm and bitter bile rise in his throat, and he swallowed hard – mercifully managing to prevent himself from vomiting. His back throbbed and his ribs burned. There was a searing stabbing sensation radiating from the base of his shoulders all the way up to his shoulders and down through both of his legs every time he tried to move.

The fall had killed him, and he'd revived from that death… this wasn't supposed to be happening to him!

He closed his eyes, balling his sweaty hands into tight fists and gritting his teeth against the pain – grinding them together in anger as it began to dawn on him that John Hart had tried to kill him!

He craned his neck slightly, ignoring the renewed surge of pain this caused him, as he tried to gage how far he'd fallen. His vision swam again and the pain in his back became unbearable.

Jack let out an involuntary whimper of pain! It felt like somebody had taken a branding iron to his entire lower back – hot enough to strip his flesh from bone. His whole body was on fire, and he ached from the waist down, along his ribcage, and deep into his spine. His skin was pulsating.

He hoped that he'd managed to escape any serious internal injury beyond the evidently broken spine, but the severity of his distress told him otherwise…

All he could do was to ride the wave of pain and wait for Owen and the rest of his team to arrive. He made a conscious effort to try and move as little as possible, as this would only aggravate his agony. The pressure of the ground against the swollen tissue in his back was pressing small stones and grains of gravel into the open, and seeping wounds.

With a groan, his face contorted and eyes screwed tightly shut, Jack tried to fight the tears which threatened to fall. He rested his weary head up against the leg of the bench now supporting him, and prayed for sleep, or death – whichever came first – as he waited for his team to arrive.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Jack?... Jack?" The next thing Jack became aware of was somebody calling his name. "Oh my God! What happened to him?" Gwen asked, as she noticed the pool of blood – stooping down beside him. As she reached over to undo the top button of his shirt Jack reached over, grasping her wrist weakly with one clammy hand in the way he often did when reviving from death…

Only he'd clearly been alive when they'd arrived, groaning and writhing on the ground in pain.

"Gwen?" He moaned, his eyes searching as he opened them, and locking onto her. Her eyes, he noticed, were wide with shock – like an animal caught in headlights.

"I need to get some fluids into him!" Owen exclaimed. "And we need to get this coat off so that I can get a better look at his injuries! He's probably sustained some significant internal trauma!"

"Jack?" Ianto asked, approaching him cautiously and stooping down beside him. He didn't seem to care about the fact that he was getting the soles of his shoes soaked in Jack's blood.

"Oh Jack…" He sighed, immediately taking over from Gwen as he scooped his lover gently up in his arms. Jack was still writhing and shivering, despite Ianto's embrace and attempts to reassure him.

"Ianto…" Jack groaned weakly.

"It's alright I'm here." The young man whispered, and this seemed to sooth Jack somewhat as he stopped writhing in his arms. Ianto turned to Owen, who had already started working on Jack. He had the medical kit laid out before him on a sheet of sterilised tarp – a little more sophisticated than the average first aid box, the Torchwood medical kit came complete with anti-toxin kit, bags of saline and blood with the relevant name tags attached, as well as various other drugs including painkillers such as morphine, anaesthetics, hypodermics, sterilised syringes and even a small canister of oxygen.

Owen had theorised that it would be quicker and safer for them all, and would raise less questions this way – especially with regards to Jack.

"What's happened to him?" Toshiko asked him, her fear clearly written all over her face. "Can't you do something for him?"

"Jack I need you to keep still while I examine you!" Owen insisted. He hooked the small oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, but Jack, in his agitation, quickly ripped it away and, not wanting to distress him further, Owen handed it to Gwen to hold a few centimetres away from his face.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" He asked him. "This is probably going to hurt, but just keep talking to me OK Jack? It'll help keep your mind off the pain!"

"FUCK!" Jack screamed as he felt himself being lifted by strong arms from behind. His team's actions were gentle, but still caused his pain to shoot up a level – it was now off the sale. He felt his shoulders being forced back, as his heavy greatcoat was peeled away from his aching body. He felt every inch of its journey as it was lifted from his back, before his arms, elbows and finally his wrists where gently worked out of the sleeves. The cold evening air struck like a blade to the exposed flesh-wounds – the numerable weeping grazes, seeping gashes and welts oozing blood, and the bruising generated by the inevitable broken bones he'd also sustained.

It occurred to him, in a moment of panic, that he was going to pass out – or, he thought, perhaps this was death coming to claim him all over again. But then, as his head finally began to clear and his panic subsided somewhat, he heard a tearing sound, and somebody started rubbing the back of his hand with something cold and wet. It made him shiver as he felt the sting of a needle penetrating his flesh and puncturing through a vein. His whole hand and wrist ached badly – but the unpleasant sensation had already began to fade by the time Owen got around to taping the line in place.

"Jack," He explained, "I've just got an IV going so that we can get some blood and fluids into you. Don't pull it out!"

"It's alright sweetheart…" Gwen soothed him, as he felt Ianto's gentle fingers awkwardly brush a single stray strand of hair away from his face. He felt the man's soft lips against his forehead – his warm breath caressing his cold skin. Jack's eyes were closed, but he could imagine Ianto glancing around uncertainly at the rest of the team before planting the kiss quickly… and the thought of this would have, under normal circumstances, made Jack smile… if he could have done… if he hadn't been in so much pain.

"Just keep talking Jack… tell me…" Owen insisted. "I need to know what happened!"

"It was John!" Jack explained, through gritted teeth. "The bastard pushed me off the roof! He tried to kill me!"

"What, right from the top?" Gwen gasped, looking up and counting all nine stories of the high rise building.

Jack nodded, as best he could. The pain in his neck generated from this gesture was instantly excruciating. "I landed with my back on the fucking bench!" He cried.

"Dear God!" Gwen exclaimed under her breath, as she observed for the first time that the bench beside them was also dripping with Jack's blood.

Ianto handed Jack's greatcoat to Tosh – damp and saturated with his blood – before assisting Owen in helping him off with his blood soaked shirt and braces. Both men recoiled as they caught their first glimpse of his injuries. Jack's back was severely bruised, there was a deep gash and some significant grazing down the full length of his spine.

As Owen gently palpated the area around the swollen ribs he felt the bone beneath his fingers shift and crunch, and Jack flinched involuntarily away from him, crying out in pain – a heart wrenching, primeval scream of deep distress. He held on tightly to Ianto – who buried his head into Jack's shoulder and continued to whisper words of comfort and reassurance in his ear.

"Sorry." Owen sighed, withdrawing his hand. "Jack, the good news is that your spine has actually healed quite nicely, but I'm quite concerned about the amount of soft tissue damage you've sustained, and your ribs are still broken." He explained. "We really need to get you somewhere quiet where you can rest, and where I can treat you without the risk of being seen. I need to strap those ribs up, and it's really important that you don't move around too much, if you want to avoid a punctured lung. I don't know why you're not healing at your usual rate, but I'm seriously worried about the risk of internal injury, and you may still be bleeding internally."

Jack groaned. "Just… just… give me something… for the pain… Owen." He panted – evidently still having some difficulty breathing despite the small amount of oxygen he'd received. "I can deal…with the rest. We need to get back to the Hub… John."

"It's alright Jack…" Ianto soothed him, and held his lover closer as Owen started to get to work with cleaning what he could of the deep wounds. "I've got you… everything's going to be alright… John… that bastard can wait… "

All four of the Torchwood team were surprised by Ianto's language – and even Owen momentarily stopped what he was doing to look up at him. Ianto meanwhile didn't appear to notice – and if he did he didn't say anything. Jack was his world at that moment – blinkering him to everyone else.

"Jack you've lost a lot of blood…" Owen told him, "and I won't lie to you, I know you said that you can't die, but I'm still seriously worried so this is what we're going to do, I'm going to give you something for the pain, and give the fluids time to treat the shock. Then, and only then will I consider letting you go after John, when I'm convinced that you're strong enough… John Hart can wait! I'll check you out for any series internal injuries later, after all of this is over!"

"But…" Jack began, before Gwen stopped him gently, with a finger to his pale lips.

"Shhhh." She hissed. "Best just to let Owen take charge for now hey sweetheart?" She asked, and Jack slumped back against Ianto, exhausted.

Owen injected several ccs of morphine into his IV line, before dosing himself up with painkillers. It had by now been several hours since his last dose, and he was beginning to feel the pain of his own gunshot wound. Once Ianto and Gwen had helped Jack into the back of the SUV he then began the process of dressing his wounds.

When he was finished Owen then gave him another injection into his IV port - this time a sedative - and took up position in the driver's seat, breathing a sigh of relief as he sunk back into the soft upholstery. It didn't much matter that he was under the influence of the morphine – they wouldn't be going anywhere for a while yet anyway.

He watched as Ianto clambered into the back seat beside Jack – who, already in a deep, morphine induced haze, found himself powerless against the effects of the sedative Owen had given him. Gwen took the other – sandwiching Jack between herself and Ianto – and Toshiko slipped into the front beside him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Owen opened his eyes just as dawn began to break. He hadn't meant to fall asleep but the hand of exhaustion upon his shoulder had been just too strong – he'd been powerless to resist. He turned his stiff neck tentatively to observe Toshiko, still asleep, in the passenger seat beside him. Her own face was still congealed with dry blood, and had started to swell. Owen made a mental note to get ice on it for her as soon as he could to try and minimise the bruising, before glancing up in the rear view mirror to check on Jack in the back. Ianto still sat in the seat directly behind him - his head had slumped forward and his mouth was slightly open – Gwen's eyes were closed too and she was still snoring lightly with her head resting gently against his shoulder.

Jack on the other hand, although still alarmingly pale, was very much awake.

"Jack!" Owen exclaimed, trying to stifle a yawn, as he turned around in his seat to look at him. "How are you feeling?" He asked, rubbing his tired eyes wearily, before unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Much better!" Jack nodded, shuffling in his seat as he said this however – trying to get comfortable. Owen wasn't convinced. "I've been up close to the last hour waiting for you lot to wake up!" He smiled.

There was something about the way he still held himself that made Owen feel uneasy, as though he was still uncomfortable, but doing his best to hide it. A healthy Jack would certainly not have spent the past hour waiting for the rest of his team to wake up – he'd have woken them all up himself in his impatience to get on with the job in hand.

"We need to get back to the Hub!" Jack insisted.

"Well, let me be the judge of that!" Owen insisted as he unlocked the driver's side door. The cold air felt refreshing against his hot skin, and the fresh scent of the morning's breeze provided a welcome wake up after the stuffy, stale air inside the vehicle.

Owen had had the heating turned up all night and as he opened the passenger door on Jack's side of the SUV he noticed the man shiver as a result of the cold.

"Let's take a look at your wounds." He sighed.

As Owen peeled away the layers of Jack's bandages he was surprised that the man could appear so calm. He hadn't had any morphine in several hours, and should have been writhing. Anyone else would have been beside themselves with the pain by now. The gauze and layers of dressings were soaked in blood and yellow fluid from his weeping wounds, some had even dried in places forming a slightly sticky layer of crusty matter, acting like a glue and making it very difficult to prise the dressings away from Jack's raw skin. Other gauze pads were still wet in areas, and where Owen gently stripped them away he revealed large open wounds still oozing blood beneath. He grimaced at the sight of the mess this caused.

"Jack," He addressed him seriously, "this is bad. The extent of these injuries in anyone else other than you would be a serious cause for concern, and even as things stand I'm worried. I'm going to give you another dose of morphine to help with the pain, and you're almost certain to be anaemic from the amount of blood you've lost." He explained.

"Don't go wasting medical supplies on me Owen." Jack insisted. "I'm fine, really. This is nothing… believe me I've had worse. Besides, you know I heal quicker than most."

"Yes but you're not are you Jack?" Owen asked him.

Jack didn't respond – Owen was right. He wasn't healing as rapidly as he should have been. The fall from the top of the tower block had killed him. When he'd revived he should have been healed – but he wasn't about to burden his team with the reason why this hadn't happened.

"I'll have you take iron tablets for the next couple of weeks, just to be on the safe side," Owen explained to him, "and then I'll check your blood for any remaining abnormalities. These wounds will need redressing for now, and then I'll try to change them at least three times daily, at least until the bleeding stops. You're also likely to be dehydrated, you're losing a lot of bodily fluids from these wounds." He reached up to check the contents of Jack's IV bag, noticing that it was already almost empty. "I'll give you another bag of saline as well." He said.

Jack shook his head.

"No time." He explained. "We need to get back to the Hub now!" He was becoming more and more agitated by the minute – his voice raised, it's tone urgent.

"Jack you need to rest!" Owen insisted.

"I've already rested!" Jack exclaimed. "I can rest once we've seen to John. We can't risk leaving him to roam the streets of Cardiff, he's dangerous. Look what he did to Gwen, to you and Tosh! He came here because he tracked me down… this is all my fault. Owen if you really want me to rest I can rest easier once I know he can't hurt anybody else! You don't know what he's capable of! What he did tonight is only the tip of a very large ice-berg!"

He sat back, clearly exhausted despite his insistence to the contrary, and Ianto began to stir. His head rolled back against the headrest, his eyelids flickered, and finally he opened his eyes. It took him a moment to realise where he was and for him to remember what had transpired the evening before. He wasn't waking up to the beautiful Cardiff sunrise streaming through the curtains of his apartment, or in the chair behind his desk where he'd sometimes grab a few hours sleep after a busy night's work, when he hadn't had time to return home. He'd never woken to find himself having spent the night in the back of the SUV before.

He turned to Jack sitting beside him. Owen was still leaning in through the open passenger side door, applying the last of the Captain's fresh bandages before administering him with a fresh dose of morphine. He'd measured out, drawn up and injected the contents of the syringe into Jack's IV line before the man had even had time to protest.

"Jack?" Ianto asked his lover, uncertainly.

"I'm alright Ianto." Jack tried to reassure him. "It's just a little scratch."

"Jack," Owen sighed, "You've broken your back in several places, you're ribs are fractured, not to mention any internal injuries you may have sustained, and if you could see your back you would realise that it's more than just a scratch, but one massive open wound! Now will you stop behaving as though it's nothing more than a grazed knee and just, for once, listen to me!"

"I've told you Owen!" Jack responded, finally finding the strength to assert some authority over the situation. "I'll rest once we've dealt with Captain John… now are you going to get behind that driver's wheel, because if you don't I will!" He demanded, already making move to push past Owen and get out the car.

"Hmph…" Owen groaned, his mounting frustration evident. He fixed Jack with a hard stare as he began tidying away what was left of the assorted medical equipment on the back passenger seat – making it clear that he did not approve – before disposing of the empty packaging.

"I'll drive!" He finally relented.

Owen slammed the passenger door shut and made his way around the side of the car, jumping into the driver's seat, as Ianto looked from Jack, to Owen, and back again. He could feel the Welshman's eyes boring into the back of his head as he reached across to put the small medical kit back in the glove compartment – being careful not to catch Tosh's knees with his arm as he did so. She was still dozing restlessly beside him, her own face now set in a pained grimace – her bruises troubling her even in sleep.

Owen turned the keys in the ignition and the engine revved into life. He glanced in the rear view mirror just in time to watch Jack tare his IV line out – stemming the small trickle of blood from the vein in the back of his hand with a discarded gauze pad.

Gwen began to stir.

"Where are we going?" Ianto asked him, confused.

"Back to the Hub." Jack growled – voice thick with uncharacteristic venom. "I have a bone to pick with Captain John Hart!"


	6. Chapter 6

A few hours later John Hart had finally been dealt with – sent back to wherever he'd come from – and the team were preparing to find a place to lay low for the next twenty-four hours. The force of returning Captain John Hart back through the rift had thrown them all back to the moment he had first materialised the previous evening, and they couldn't run the risk of coming into contact with themselves. They were all aware of what the potential devastating consequences of two timelines colliding might be.

Jack was still proving a great cause for concern for them all. His skin was a few shades paler than its usual complexion, and his gait still betrayed his pain. He needed a place to rest – and his wounds would almost certainly need fresh dressings by now. Owen could see that he was very obviously dehydrated, and he was beginning to appear rather unsteady on his feet. He'd lost a lot of blood, and was continuing to lose fluid from his many open wounds. It was imperative that they get another IV into him as soon as possible – he needed fluids, and possibly blood – and Owen thought that he would probably appreciate some painkillers too. He'd never been too sure how effective the medication he gave him was at treating Jack's ills – he frequently refused to take any at all, stating that there were those who needed it a lot more than him – but a broken back, several fractured ribs, and extensive soft tissue damage was a lot more serious than a tension headache and Owen couldn't, on this occasion, stand back and do nothing at all.

Before he'd disappeared the Captain, it seemed, had still had one final trick up his sleeve however – one final chance to leave a lasting and devastating impact on Jack, as if he hadn't been through enough already.

"Oh and by the way, I've found Grey…" He'd said, as tendrils of rift energy surrounded him – licking hungrily at his face and body.

Jack's face had fallen – his eyes wide with shock.

As the Rift had finally closed around John Hart – wisps of the vortex energy wrapping themselves around his arms and legs like shackles preventing his escape - Jack had turned, rather stiffly, to look at them all. Owen had noticed that as he turned he did so with his whole body – seeming to prefer not to move his neck. Evidently it wasn't just a sore back he was suffering from then – he'd probably sustained some whiplash from the initial impact with the bench, Owen theorised.

"Who's Grey?" Gwen asked him, quietly.

"It's nothing…" Jack replied – unwittingly shaking his head, and immediately regretting the motion. "Let's get back to work." He sighed.

As he started walking away however he suddenly stiffened and fell to his knees, his back arched as his face contorted into what could only be described as a look of absolute agony. Owen immediately raced to his side.

"Jack?" He asked him, instantly concerned as he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and bent down beside him. He noticed that he was pale and shaking, and that there was a thin sheen of sweat upon his brow. There was also a faint odour emanating from the wounds to his back.

"We need to change your dressings." He sighed.

"I'm fine." Jack insisted, brushing off his teams concern with a weak wave of his hand. "It's nothing…" Although he gasped and a shiver ran through his body as he tried to get back up.

"Jack, you need to rest!" Owen insisted. "You need somewhere to stay for the night… someone to keep an eye on you." He explained to him, un-swayed by Jack's apparent reluctance to accept the fact that he needed help. "You can't go back to the Hub, whilst there's still the risk of you running into yourself."

"I've told you all," Jack snapped as he finally made it to his feet, "I'm fine!"

"He can stay at my place." Ianto said.

The team turned to look at the young Welshman. Gwen frowned. The whole time Jack had been away Ianto had been the one who'd suffered the most as a result of his departure, but there was no trace of the anger or resentment they might have expected to see upon his face. In fact quite the opposite. He'd appeared genuinely concerned by Jack's distressed phone call telling them what Captain John Hart had done to him earlier in the evening, and hadn't left his side since they had found him.

He'd held Jack close whilst Owen had tended to his wounds, cuddling him close, and whispering reassuring words into his ear. It was almost as though their Captain had never been away.

They could only suppose that Ianto's love for Jack really did run deep.

The team's unwelcome attention obviously didn't sit well with Ianto however and he instantly blushed and averted their gaze uncomfortably.

"Well," He faltered, clearing his throat and swallowing hard to try and dispel the lump in his throat, "I know that I'm not going to be going back to my flat anytime this evening don't I, so there's no chance of us being run into… and I have plenty of spare room… it's warm, and tidy, and in quite a quiet and suitably boring location." He smiled.

But Owen shook his head.

"We still can't run the risk." He said. "Ianto _you_ may not have gone back to your flat in the last twenty-four hours, but we can't count on the you in this current timeline not doing so. Things can change, and when they do people's actions and motives often change with them…"

"Then I'll book a hotel!" Ianto said. He looked over at Jack, who had only taken a couple more steps but looked as close to collapse as he had ever seen him. Owen too appeared to notice the young man's concerned expression, and glancing at Jack quickly moved a little closer – ready to steady him if he fell again.

"We really need to get you somewhere where we can lie you down." He said, as he observed him critically. From his close proximity he could feel the heat radiating from his body, indicative of fever. He hadn't felt too warm a few hours ago when he'd last examined him, and Owen began to wonder whether the same process which allowed Jack to heal faster and also revive from death could also speed up the development of infection.

He felt a slight pang of anxiety in the pit of his stomach as this thought occurred to him – if this was the case they also needed to get some antibiotics into him quickly.

Jack opened his mouth as though he was going to protest, but Owen put a hand up to silence him.

"It's settled Jack." The young doctor told him. "Ianto will book you both into a hotel and stay with you tonight. I want to take another look at your wounds and get another IV going, after that I'll leave some spare dressings with Ianto just in case your dressings need replacing again in the night, and I will pop by to check on you again in the morning. Hopefully by then the risk will have passed, and we can all go home."

"Hang on," Gwen frowned, another thought suddenly occurring to her, "Where are the rest of us going to go?" She asked. "We can't go home either."

"Don't worry, I'll book us all into a hotel." Ianto reassured her. "Separate rooms of course." He smiled.

"Oooooo, so I get friends with benefits." Jack winked at him – his eyes twinkling.

"There is just one condition…" Ianto grinned as he glanced playfully in Jack's direction. His beautiful green eyes gleamed, his cheeks – emphasised by his prominent cheekbones – blushing pink, and his smile immediately widened. "This doesn't count… you still owe me that date." He told him.

Jack laughed as heartily as his throbbing ribs would allow him, but he still couldn't disguise a slight wince. "Well surely that depends on how the mood of the evening takes us?" He asked him teasingly.

"You'll have a job doing anything which vaguely constitutes a date hooked up to an IV bag." Ianto smiled. "But if you like I'll let you choose the pay-per-view."

"You might end up regretting saying that." Jack smiled back.

Ianto sighed.

Something told him that he very well might. But he really didn't care.

After all those long evenings dreaming of this moment he finally had Jack back, and even with a broken back and several broken ribs he could already tell that they were going to have fun tonight.


End file.
